


Polish

by jestayork



Series: Oneshots [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Gen, alternating pronouns for eret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27829387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jestayork/pseuds/jestayork
Summary: Niki's always wanted to go to a ball, and by pure luck she gets the opportunity - as a waitress
Relationships: Eret & Niki | Nihachu, Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036803
Comments: 3
Kudos: 108





	Polish

Niki's always wanted to go to a ball. A big fancy one, like those they hold at the palace. Everyone dressed beautifully, dancing in a fascinating twirl across the floor.

Unfortunately for her, she's dirt poor. All her dreams of grandeur are just that - dreams.

So when she passes by shop windows displaying gorgeous, floor length dresses, she only allows herself to look for a little while before moving on.

It’s a sunny morning, but the light doesn't make it halfway down to the street. Everything is overshadowed by the tall buildings. Only at about midday will she actually feel sunlight. Nowadays, after growing older and getting kicked out of the orphanage, she has to work, every opportunity that she has. Especially since Tubbo, not wanting to be without her, decided to follow her onto the streets. 

He's a great kid, just nowhere near responsible. 

Right now, she's holding a big box of fabrics, having been commissioned to repair some fraying garments by a family who don't know how to sew. Compared to other jobs, it's not particularly quick or well-paying for her time, but the delivery jobs are always snapped up by the younger kids, leaving her with the hard work. In this way, Tubbo's company is a blessing, because he spends all morning running around delivering newspapers and spends the evening sitting with her, chattering as she sews.

She regrets befriending him, because his attachment to her may have cost him ever having a real family. But she can't really see herself surviving without his company.

She knocks on the door of her clients' house, resting the basket against her hip to ease the weight on her arms. There isn't a response for a while, before the door is yanked open, revealing Mr Davies's worried face. "Oh, you're the girl who's doing the, uh, sewing right?"

Niki nods. There's commotion somewhere inside the house behind him. "Yes, that's me. Is everything alright?" She asks, angling her head to look past him. The hall is too dark to make anything out.

Mr Davies scratches the back of his head. "Not really, we've had a terrible morning. Really unlucky, since Lucy got a job at the palace as a waitress and isn't fit to show up - it'll be very humiliating to have to call in sick or… We're not sure what to do." She stands there, waiting for him to address the basket of clothes, but the man seems to be a bit out of it.

"Well, I finished the sewing." She says after the pause becomes unbearable, holding the basket out in front of her.

"Oh, right!" Mr Davies says, patting at his pockets. "I don't have any money on me right now, can you just wait here?"

"Yes." She says, and the man shuts the door and she hears his footsteps jogging away. The wait is a bit awkward, but eventually he reappears, holding a small bag of coins that he drops in her hand as he takes the basket. "Ah, thanks, lass. Wait - do you think you can stand in for Lucy for tonight? Just a one-time thing, by the next ball everything will probably be fine, it's very well paying -"

She can hardly contain the excitement - a job as a waitress? Just standing around holding a tray and getting to watch a real ball? _And getting paid for it? _Sounds like a dream come true. "Of course!" She says.__

__Mr Davies smiles in relief. "Alright. So what you've gotta do is go to the west gate, and then…" He lists a long line of directions, but the overall message is simple. Go in through the servants' doors, find someone in charge of clothing, get a dress and then find the kitchens._ _

__Niki spends the rest of the morning doing her best to clean herself up. As her tiny apartment she shares with Tubbo lacks a bath or shower, she has to wash her hair by pouring cups of water on herself over the sink._ _

__At noon, it's time to go to the palace, since the servants need all the help they can get for the preparations. She writes a quick note to Tubbo explaining why she won't be home until late into the night, locking the rickety door behind her and stepping out onto the street._ _

__The sun now shining overhead, she holds a hand up to shade her eyes as she walks to the gate. She can't deny that she's nervous, but servants living outside of the palace and coming in to work is a norm in this city, so there shouldn't be any need to prove herself or anything. She lifts her skirt up slightly as she walks up the stairs, reaching the small doorway in the side of the walls._ _

__The guard looks her over, and opens the door without question. In the back of her mind, she thinks of how easy it would be to be a spy, but dismisses the thought as she smiles and thanks them._ _

__Inside the palace is a bit cooler than outside, and bustling with activity. Someone rushes past her holding a massive pile of fabric that may be a tablecloth, followed by a couple of kids with their arms full of candles._ _

__The corridors are not extravagant, but still better decorated and cleaned than her entire neighbourhood. The floors are actually polished, which is so strange to see. She supposes that when there's so many servants, some of them might care enough to make sure their workspace is nice._ _

__"Excuse me," she asks another kid carrying candles that's lagging behind the pack. He turns to look at her, and she's a bit taken aback by his mismatched eyes, "where am I supposed to go as a waiter?"_ _

__The kid stares wide eyed at her before shifting the pile of candles in his arms to point down a corridor. "Talk to Eret. E's the tall one" He says._ _

__"Thanks!" She says with a smile, and turns around to find this 'Eret'._ _

__This area is less crowded, and a very tall person stands out a lot, making Eret easy to spot. "Hello," he says, "are you one of the waiters?"_ _

__Niki nods. "Yes. What am I supposed to do?"_ _

__Eret gestures her to follow, turning on their heel, opening the door into another room. "Well, first, we need to get you looking professional. That dress is charming, but not fitting to this event. Are you a suit person, a dress person, or something else?"_ _

__Niki thinks. She's always wanted to wear a fancy suit, but a dress seems like the more fun way to experience a ball, even though she won't be dancing. "A dress."_ _

__Eret nods, opening a closet. "I'm not really one for fashion," they say, "but I think this one is probably ideal." She holds out a dark blue, simple dress, "you can also have an apron if you want. But that's not particularly glamorous."_ _

__Niki takes the dress, holding it at shoulder height. It looks like it's probably a good fit, just reaching the floor. It's high collared, with long sleeves and ruffles at the front. The dress isn't anything special, nothing compared to what the noblewomen will be wearing, but Niki's heart swells because it's proof that this is _real_ \- that this is really happening. _ _

__She excuses herself to a change room to put it on. The fabric feels fairly expensive, but sturdy._ _

__When she comes back out, she's amazed by how nice she looks. The clothing that she can normally afford is nowhere near as nice as this. It's been a very long time since she has been able to wear decent clothes._ _

__She does an experimental twirl, marvelling at how the dress fans out._ _

__"Sorry, I don't think I got your name?" Eret interrupts._ _

__She stumbles a bit as she stops spinning, a touch embarrassed. "I'm Niki."_ _

__"Nice to meet you." Eret smiles, "Okay, the next thing you need to do is go to the kitchens. You don't have any experience carrying trays of drinks, do you?" Niki shakes her head. "Yeah, it's not easy, so you should probably carry food, since they're less likely to try and tip off of your tray."_ _

__Eret leads her to the room next to the kitchen, where trays of food will be brought out for her to carry around. "Do you actually know what this ball is for?"_ _

__"I've heard that there _will be one_ for a few weeks, but I've never paid much attention to why? I didn't expect to be here, at all."_ _

__"There's a lot of royals and nobles visiting." Eret leans close to her to whisper, "just keep this between us, but I think they all know the king's an old bat, and are trying to suck up to him so maybe they'll inherit the kingdom when he dies."_ _

__"…Oh." She hasn't really thought about it before, but the king is quite old now, and doesn't have any living heirs. He has yet to appoint his successor - the local nobles must be so desperate for him to come to a decision._ _

__

__As they talk, more and more people filter into the room, other waiters taking trays of food and drink. "The guests are arriving," someone tells Eret._ _

__"Well," Eret says, with a clap of their hands, "looks like it's time to get to work. Take this," he hands her a tray of small pies, "careful not to step on any dresses, look cheerful but not _too_ happy, don't interrupt conversations, but if someone talks to you, humour them until they go away. Try not to make eye contact with the weird ones and don't stand too close to anyone dancing," he disappears into the crowd, leaving Niki alone._ _

__The tray is probably more expensive than her soul. Looking to be made of silver, it's embellished with absurdly intricate metal leaves and animals. With this, she could buy a real house for herself and Tubbo. Instead, she's going to walk out there and give away pies._ _

__The lives of the rich are interesting, she decides, standing next to a group of women that she recognises as duchesses from Geegee, chattering about things that she can't really understand. "…The horse is nice, but it really annoys me how it can't jump high enough to be any use at shows." One of them says, taking a pie from her tray. Niki feels a faint sense of accomplishment. The other women nod, but none of them look interested in pies, so she moves on._ _

__They're wearing dresses that she can only describe as absolutely lovely. Most of them are off the shoulder with detailed embellishments and poofy sleeves. She likes the way the dresses all look together, the way the dresses complement each other's bright colours, creating a sea of extravagance._ _

__The next group over already has a waiter standing by them with some kind of sandwiches, so she walks to a group of men and women. They ignore her, and she starts to feel a bit uncomfortable standing there, but there isn't really anywhere to go._ _

__The band in the corner is playing classical music, filling the room with the hum of strings as the crowd grows. The conversations of the crowd merge together in a dull rhubarb, occasionally interrupted by loud laughter._ _

__The music fades out as they start a new song._ _

__"Excuse me," a startlingly tall man appears in front of her, "may I have this dance, madame?" Shocked, she looks up and recognises him as Prince Wilbur, from the neighbouring kingdom._ _

__At a loss, all she can say is "I'm a waiter, your highness," with a dip of her head._ _

__"Doesn't mean you can't dance."_ _

__"I can't dance."_ _

__"I can teach you," he says with a smile. He takes the tray from her hands and passes it to a confused duke, holding out his hand._ _

__Eret had said to humour guests until they wandered off, right? That's how she chooses to justify taking the prince's hand and following him to an emptier area of floor._ _

__"Okay," he says, "put one hand on my shoulder, and here, take my other hand." He settles his hand on her waist, and takes a step back. "We'll start with a box waltz. Just follow what I'm doing with my feet."_ _

__Niki follows his step. Next, he slides his other foot next to the first, stepping to the side. She matches it, and he nudges her right foot to step back. He repeats the same sliding sidestep, and then they're standing where they started. "Well done." He says. They repeat for another loop. Niki feels a bit self-conscious just staring at her feet, so she makes an effort to look around the room._ _

__And immediately steps squarely on his foot._ _

__"Sorry!" She gasps, stepping back._ _

__"It's fine," he says, sounding a bit pained, "you're not heavy. It was way worse teaching my brothers." He mumbles the last sentence: "I'm pretty sure Tommy stood hard on my feet on purpose."_ _

__She laughs nervously. She has no idea why this is happening. Wilbur is looking to a group of people by one of the tables, and she recognises two of them as Prince Technoblade and Prince Thomas. Her soul promptly departs from her body when she sees none other than _Tubbo_ standing and talking with the group._ _

__How is her brother here? He's a step away from a _street urchin_ how did he even get into the palace? He's not even here as a worker, she can see him talking excitedly with the youngest prince._ _

__Wilbur pulls her along in another waltz, so she can't stare at him any longer, forced to look back down at her feet to not repeat the same blunder. "Tell me about yourself." Wilbur says._ _

__"My name is Niki," she says awkwardly, "I like to bake, but I mostly work as a seamstress."_ _

__"A seamstress?" He says, caught off guard._ _

__"Not like that!" She blushes, still looking at the floor. "I fix clothes! Actually sewing! This isn't _Ankh_."_ _

__"Ah. How'd you get here, then?"_ _

__"I'm not really sure. Luck."_ _

__She never expected to be here. Dancing with a prince. Stepping on his feet._ _

__"Would you say that this is a good city?"_ _

__Is this what it is? Did Prince Wilbur single her out specifically _because_ she's a commoner, to gain intel on her home country? Pretty smart, when she thinks about it. The servants probably know the state of the kingdom better than any of the nobles._ _

__Should she be careful about what she says?_ _

__"It's very… urban. The farmland is quite far out. Makes the food expensive." He hums in response, encouraging her to go on. "The roads are good, though. If you've got a cart, it'll be a relatively smooth ride, and it won't take too long to travel from one side of the city to the other. It's not so great for pedestrians." She winces when she remembers all the hidden puddles she's stepped in over the years. "Housing is expensive." She adds._ _

__She wonders, distantly, if she's aiding in a future hostile takeover. She's never had particularly good luck; it seems like how the fates would decide to balance this spontaneous good fortune._ _

__Niki looks up at the prince, seeing if there's any tells on his face. He keeps his expression neutral, raising his eyebrows as he makes eye contact. She looks away._ _

__Tubbo is still with the other princes. Wilbur notices her looking. "Looks like Tommy's found a new kid to latch onto," he chuckles, "we might have to take this one back home with us."_ _

__She looks up at him, stunned. "That's my brother!"_ _

__Wilbur shrugs, pulling her back into the waltz. "We can take you with us too. You don't strike me as a person with attachments here."_ _

__He's right, and it's annoying._ _

__"Maybe Techno could train you to be one of the personal guards," he muses._ _

__"I can't fight, Your Highness," she mumbles._ _

__"You can't dance, either, and look at you. You're not even looking anymore, and you haven't messed up the footwork. You have a lot of potential if you apply yourself."_ _

__Niki doesn't really have a response to that. But she does know she's not particularly strong, and swords are heavy. Yet, following this guy and his family sounds exciting. Niki's always wanted to get out of this city and away from the unpleasant memories that linger in the street corners. Maybe this is what's she's needed. Maybe she can run away with a prince._ _

__Or rather, Tubbo can run away with a prince and she'll follow him._ _

__Looking around the room, she spots Eret. They make eye contact. He raises his eyebrows in an obvious question, eyes darting between her and the prince. She shrugs helplessly._ _

__The band finishes their song, and Wilbur, lifts her hand off of his shoulder, letting go of her hand and stepping back. "Thank you," he bows, a grin clear on his face._ _

__A rather impatient duke shoves the tray of pies back into her hands, and the magic of the moment fades away as Prince Wilbur turns and walks away._ _

__Eret sidles up to stand next to her. "What was that all about?"_ _

__"I don't know." She sighs. The tray has half the pies missing. She wonders how offended the Duke must have been to have people treating him like a waiter._ _

__"I've heard he's quite a lady-killer." Eret says, holding their tray out for a passing princess to take a sandwich from. "Do you feel lady-killed?"_ _

__"Mostly just confused," she laughs. It's very dark outside, and she's feeling tired now that her adrenaline is fading._ _

__Eret laughs. "Sounds about right. You looked like you were being held hostage, the way you were looking around all wide-eyed."_ _

__"It wasn't _bad_ , I just had no idea what was going on."_ _

__Eret pats her on the back in silent solidarity. "Ain't that relatable." At that, she disappears into the crowd again._ _

__Niki realises that she has a pretty good excuse to go over and check on what the hell Tubbo's doing here. She has a tray of food to give out, so she weaves her way through the crowd to join him._ _

__He's joking with Prince Thomas about something, the two boys having a strangely easy rapport, bouncing banter off of each other. It's like they've known each other for a very long time._ _

__Tubbo looks up and sees the tray, taking a pie before freezing as he realises who's holding the tray. "Niki." he says._ _

__"What are you doing here?" She asks._ _

__"Niki!" Tubbo stands on his tiptoes to wrap his arm around Tommy's shoulders, pulling him down to his level. "It's Tommy! Do you remember him? He stayed at the orphanage with us before he was adopted a few years ago."_ _

__"King Philza adopted a foreign orphan boy?" She says, bewildered, "and that boy was _Tommy?_ "_ _

__"I, quite literally, ran into him on the street." Tommy grins, "he decided to keep me. Royal life is pretty sick."_ _

__"Niki, I want to go with them when they go. Come with, it'll be fun," Tubbo says, making puppy eyes._ _

__

__She can argue with a prince, but she can't argue with her brother._ _

__

__"Fine."_ _

**Author's Note:**

> This reads like a prequel but I doubt I'll ever write more for this. If you want you can make this a prequel to your own fic.
> 
> Requests are open  
> \- no ship  
> \- no extreme whump (I write angst like a tv show targeted at 13 year old boys, dark but not brutal)  
> \- be specific! If you have an idea, I'd like you to go into as much detail as you can.


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